ASR Menu Block

The ASR Menu block allows the caller to make a selection by speaking key words for options.

For example:

  1. The prompt announces menu options. Each option has a corresponding key word or phrase. Example: What is the product you would like to talk about: microwave or refrigerator?
  2. Caller says the key word or phrase of the menu option they want. Example: microwave.
  3. The ASR menu uses a designated speech recognition module to process the response, checking if the response matches one of the menu options.
    • If a match occurs, the ASR Menu block directs the call to the conditional exit corresponding to the menu option.
    • If a match does not occur, the Voice application moves to the next building block in the flowchart.

Use the ASR Menu block in conjunction with the Get DTMF String or Menu blocks to create menus that process both voice and DTMF input. In such cases, the ASR Menu block processes the voice input, while the Get DTMF String or Menu blocks following the ASR Menu block process the DTMF input.

When giving callers the option of using either voice or DTMF input, Ivanti recommends stating so in the prompt. For example, the prompt can announce, "Press or say your customer ID number."

Prompts

The ASR Menu block has one prompt link that accesses the Prompt Manager, letting you create or select the prompt the block plays. A typical prompt for this block announces menu options with corresponding numbers.

Settings

The ASR Menu block has the following settings:

  • Label - Change the name of the block if needed to uniquely identify the use of this block in the application flowchart.
  • Barge-in - Select Yes to allow the Voice application to accept the caller’s voice input if the caller starts to speak before the prompt completes. Select No to allow the Voice application to accept voice input only after the prompt completes. If the barge-in is turned on, the prompt playing will be stopped the moment the voice is detected. If not using barge-in it is recommended to put a short beep after prompt to indicate that voice input is expected. Using barge-in makes application more usable, not using barge-in conserves CPU resources (more time spent playing, less time spent listening).
  • Interruptible - Select Yes to allow the Voice application to accept the caller’s DTMF input (for processing in the next Get DTMF String or Menu blocks) before the prompt completes. Select No to allow the Voice application to accept DTMF input only after the prompt completes. If you select Yes, also enable the Interruptible option in the next block (either the Get DTMF String or Menu blocks).
  • Timeout - The number of seconds the Voice application waits for a caller’s input before moving to the next block. The default is 30 seconds.

Conditional Exits and the Branches Table

The Branches table lets you create and manage conditional exits for the ASR Menu block.

The Branches table has one column for each language the Ivanti Voice application supports. The first two rows in each column contain the following settings:

  • Resource Name - The name of the ScanSoft SpeechPearl ASR resource to use for the language. You must specify a resource for each language you want the ASR Menu block to use. Example of language resource names are:
    • CHS_Standard (Chinese)
    • JPN_Standard (Japanese)
    • ENU_Standard (Standard U.S. English)
  • Not Used - Select this check box if you do not want to recognize speech in that language (if the application invokes this block when the language is set to one you do not want to recognize, the block will stop the application).

Each remaining row in the Branches table is a conditional exit.

To Add a Conditional Exit:

  1. Click the green + icon in the bottom right corner. The conditional exit fields appear at the bottom of the table.
  2. In the text field in the Branch Label column, type a name for the new conditional exit.
  3. In the text field in each language column, type the word or phrase a caller must say to trigger the conditional exit.
  4. Click the Update button. The new conditional exit appears in the flowchart on the left, below the ASR Menu header.

When configuration for this block is complete,click the Update button to apply the settings.